Don't Fall Asleep
by Ao Yoake
Summary: Ichigo is you're usual average teen. Then, he suddenly finds that he isn't so normal. And what is all this about not fallin asleep! Warning! Insane Ichigo. This was originally intended to be at the least shounen-ai but may not be continued... CURRENTLY ON HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

I sighed as I looked at the apathetic face looking back at me. I smiled, he smiled. I glared, he glared. Finally, I turned, getting ready to jump in the shower. The only love I have is me. Forever more. It's a curse and a blessing; I'll never be loved, never hated. But that's okay, I'll always love me…

* * *

After the water was cold, I jumped out and grabbed a towel. I started drying off, then realized that I forgot to turn off the water. I span around and quickly turned the knob until the water stopped. I yanked on my underwear, tripp pants, and green t-shirt with white mesh underneath. Today was going to be a long day.

I turned and looked at the mirror. I ran a brush through my hair sloppily. My hair was still a mess, but that was okay. I brushed my teeth and smiled at my reflection. After putting on my shoes, I winked at the mirror. Saying bye to my mom, I couldn't help but be weary of the fact that my reflection winked back, and not when I winked.

As I made my way down the sidewalk, I caught sight of one of my close friends. I lowered my head and stepped on tiptoe until I was just behind the red head, then shouted out, "Boo!"

"Ah! Don't sneak up on me like that, Ichigo! I didn't even hear you coming!" he shouted before finally calming down. I chuckled at his cowardice before giving him a response.

"Sorry, Renji. I just couldn't resist sneaking up on you when you we totally wide open," I replied, ignoring his growl of protest, "and I need to release stress some how, you know! Look, I think I'm getting a wrinkle!"

I pointed at my completely unmarred face, knowing I had no wrinkles what-so-ever. At least, I thought there was nothing wrong with my face until I noticed that Renji was staring at it. What was wrong with my face? I waved a hand in front of his eyes repeatedly before he finally snapped out of it.

"Oh! Sorry, Ichigo!" he held up his hands in a 'no offense' jester. I smiled at him, knowing he meant no harm.

"Um… Is there something on my face? You were kind of staring at it for a while," I tried to keep the concern and worry out of my voice. I have to sound unaffected.

"It's just that I couldn't help but notice your eyes. Did you get colored contacts or something?" he asked me, once again staring at my face.

"No, what would make you think that?" I was starting to wonder if it was indeed Renji who had something wrong with him.

"Ichigo, your eyes are yellow. I kind of thought that they were supposed to be brown, that's why I said something," he was now studying my face for any type of reaction. I just stared at him, wondering if this was some sort of joke. I then noticed that we were almost to the school building.

"No, Renji. My eyes are brown. What are you talking about? They've never been yellow in my life…" I trailed off. For some reason, my thoughts kept coming back to earlier when my reflection decided to wink back at me. No, that's just silly. It's not like they could possibly be connected. I rolled my eyes that were most definitely not yellow and looked onwards.

We finally got to the front door of the school building, having been in silence the entire time. That silence was immediately broken by the clashing chatter of our fellow students in the area. We were still not talking to each other until just before we got to our home room class.

"Hey, Ichigo. I don't think you believe me. Here, come with me for a minute and I'll show you what I mean," he grabbed my hand and dragged me off towards what seemed to be the bathroom. I tried to get him to let go of me, attempting to yank my hand away.

"Renji, there is absolutely nothing wrong with me! For the last time, just forget it!" I protested, still yanked at his firm grip to no avail. He finally got me into the bathroom, locking the door just in case. I gave a few angered grumbles before finally giving in and decided to go along with him if only to get it through more quickly.

"Look, Ichigo," he told me, pointing at the mirror. I gasped at what he was indicating. Sure enough, luminescent yellow orbs were staring back at me. I touched my face, making sure that it was actually my head there. I tapped the mirror. This can't be happening. What's going on? I voiced those very thoughts out loud.

"I don't know. Maybe you should go to the nurse. Come to think of it, aren't you getting a little pale?"

"No, no! I don't believe this! Maybe I'm not actually awake?" I banged my fists up against the mirror as that reflection gave me a smirk. It was messing with me again! I pounded on the mirror until it broke and my fists were covered in the bloody shards. It didn't matter. The reflection was finally gone.

"Ichigo! Now, I'm definitely going to have to take you to the damn nurse! Don't you ever think?" Renji scolded. I wasn't paying any attention. I was in utter bliss and yet despair. The reflection was gone. I was saved and doomed. I was free, yet alone. Then I began to hear the insane, high pitched giggles. Soon, my head was filled with laughter. He was laughing. He was laughing at me.

I growled in anger as I was dragged towards the nurses office. I subconsciously realized that Renji had looked down at me in confusion. The laughter only became louder and louder until it was the only thing that I could hear. I grabbed at my own hair, tugging on it and screamed in anguish. It wouldn't stop.

"Make it stop!" I cried, but more laughter answered me, "Make it stop, make it stop!"

I felt a cold hand touch my forehead. It was so cold that I barely noticed it and couldn't ignore it at the same time. It was so hot in the room. It was so hot and he was still laughing. I knew that my ears were surely going to bleed if he didn't stop. The cackles went on and on, drawing tears from my tightly shut eyes.

I was now writhing in agony on the floor, screaming my pain to any who would listen. I screamed as loud as I could even though I could not hear myself over the laughter. Didn't anybody else notice him laughing? He was laughing so loud, how could they not?

I felt movement around me and then something rough underneath my body. I cracked open one eye to see that I was now in a bed with a few concerned faces around me. One of them was Renji. They all seemed so concerned. Not concerned about the laughter, the cackles, the giggles. Again, I attempted to tell them.

"Can't you hear it?" I cried, "Can't you hear him? Make it stop!"

I pulled myself into a tight ball, ignoring all else around me. They wouldn't make him stop. Why should I pay attention to someone who wouldn't help? Just as abruptly as the laughter had started, it suddenly ceased to exist. I uncurled from the ball I was in, laying flat on my back. Just as I relaxed, another voice came.

"… _King…?" _whispered a watery, high pitched voice that sounded just like the laughter.

"Yes?" I replied, ignoring the mumbles from the people around me.

"_Don't fall asleep!" _another cackle accompanied the shout and I winced as I covered my ears.

"Why?" I begged, "Why not….?"

"_Whatever you do, don't fall asleep!" _he said again, _"If you fall asleep, I won't guarantee that you'll wake up again….!"_

With that, the voice was gone and there was silence in both my head and the room. I screamed, if only to fill the silence. I screamed because nobody could or would save me. Not even myself.


	2. Chapter 2

I was terrified of myself and everything around me. Don't fall asleep. It seems to mean so much and so little at all. I'm still in the white bed in the nurse's office, but they said that I can go back in a few minutes. Apparently, I had to 'calm down' after my 'episode' before I could go to class. I'm not crazy, I know I'm not. The voice isn't made up, he exists. All I have to do is prove it to them…

"_Yeah King… Just keep telling yourself that…" _I flinched at his voice, causing him to laugh, but luckily it wasn't nearly as much laughter as before.

"Keep quiet," I whispered harshly at the voice.

"_What ever you say, King!" _there was a bit more sarcasm in the word King that time.

Just then, the nurse walked into the room. I looked up at her warily. She looked at me for a few minutes before walking over to the bed and handing me a small piece of paper. I glanced down and saw that it was merely a pass to go to class with her signature, my name, the teacher's name, and time on it. I wrapped my fingers around the note, stuffing it into my pocket.

"We're letting you go back to class. We have already contacted your mother and told her about your episode. If anything seems wrong, don't hesitate to come back. Your teachers have been sent notice of what happened, so you can leave at any time," she gave me a warm smile before leaving the room.

I sighed. Why me? Why in the world, out of all the couple billion of people, did it have to be me in this situation? I glanced down at my hand and reluctantly shoved the warm covers off of my legs. Once I was outside of the office, I glanced around. Where was my class again?

"_You're such an idiot! Go right! Go right!" _came his voice again.

This time I didn't flinch. I was already getting used to him, so I could handle his voice a bit better. I rolled my eyes, deciding it was best to take his advice. It was strange that I suddenly had no memory of the layout of my school when it has been almost a year since I've started going here. I couldn't help but think that he had meddled with my memories.

"_Don't worry, King. I'm sure that your precious memories will come back eventually…" _he giggled.

"Shut up," I mumbled, reaching my destination.

I peaked into the narrow window on the door and just barely saw Renji. He was tapping his desk in a nervous manner and didn't seem to be paying attention to the teacher. I tapped on the window and he immediately looked up at me. A lot of tension seemed to leave him when he noticed me because he visibly relaxed.

Renji was quick to jump out of his seat and nearly ran to the door. He looked at my eyes as if to check to see if they were still yellow. He looked like he had finally reassured himself of whatever he was hoping, and opened the door for me. As soon as the door opened, all eyes in the classroom were on me, including the teacher's.

I mentally brushed off the awkward feeling that I got and held my head high as I made my way to the teacher's podium. She was eyeing me cautiously, as if she was waiting for me to attack. Maybe she was. I stuck my hand in my pocket to retrieve the nurse's note. When I yanked my hand out of my pocket with the note clutched between my fingers and thumb, she actually jumped out of her seat. The voice laughed at me. Damn, I really needed to find out what his name was.

"_I don't have one," _was his solemn reply.

I couldn't help but feel sorrow for his revelation. I didn't even know why, but he honestly seemed to be another person. Alas, I was in school right now, which meant that I had to act 'normal' and not talk to him. He didn't respond to that thought, though. He seemed to be mourning over his lack of a name more than I was.

The teacher finally worked up the guts to take the note in my hand a quietly ordered me to go to my seat. I wonder what all that was about. Since when were any of the teachers actually scared of me? I felt as if it was all that nurse's fault, if only for a moment. Or maybe it was one of the other people who were in that room.

"_There ain't no maybe about it, King. You know that one of them told on you, so why are you trying to convince yourself otherwise?"_

I wasn't sure about the answer to that question. Why was I trying to convince myself otherwise? It's not like it did me any good. Silently grumbling to myself, I sat in my seat, pulling myself up to the desk. At first, I was determined to focus on the teacher's lecture, but no matter how hard I attempted to focus, my thoughts kept wondering back to that voice. I thought that even if he was a voice in my head, that he deserved a name. I would have to talk to him about it at lunch or something.

"_A name…? Why would you give little old me a name? Even though I'm threatening you, you seem to want to show me kindness…"_

I groaned in displeasure, knowing that I wouldn't be able to concentrate anymore on the lecture. I decided to rest my head on the desk, but didn't go to sleep. No, I'd never go to sleep after what he said, even if I was trying to be nice to him. I wouldn't go to sleep unless he said I could.

When class was finally over and it was time to go to lunch break, I was thankful that I had brought my lunch. I definitely didn't want to have to take the time of buying a lunch. I jumped from my seat, darting out of the room and heading up to the roof. If I was lucky, I'd be able to get there before anyone else and lock the door so that nobody could get through.

Someone was behind me, but I managed to get onto the roof and slam the door shut before he could get through.

"Hey, Ichigo!" he shouted, "Let me in, too!"

Now that I heard the voice of my pursuer, I was very glad that I had shut the door. It was Grimmjow Jeagerjaques. He was the last person I wanted around if I was actually going to make myself look more insane than I appeared and talk to the voice in my head. I walked over to the fence at the edge of the roof and sat down, leaning my back against it. After pulling out my onigiri and taking a bite, I started to talk to him.

"So, you don't have a name?" I asked him.

"_Nope, haven't had a name since I was born," _he replied in a bored tone.

"Well, how would you feel if I gave you a name?"

"_It wouldn't bother me," _I could hear him trying to keep the excitement out of his voice, _"you can do what ever you want."_

"Hm… how about I call you…" I mumbled, trying to think of a good name.

"_Down bust a casket, King," _he said, giggling at me.

"Quiet, you! Any way, why do you keep calling me King- Wait, that's it! I'll call you Koichi!" I shouted, proud of the fact that I could come up with a name.

"_Koichi?" _he deadpanned, _"You're seriously going to call me shining prince? To top it off, it has ichi in it. Aren't you original?"_

"Aw, shut up. I thought would be a good one… I guess I'll just come up with another-"

"_No, no! I like that name! I like that name because you gave it to me, King. Although, I have to wonder why you'd say that I'm shining,"_

I blushed just a little when I realized how girly I must have sounded, coming up with the name that I did. Then I wondered. Why did I call him shining prince?

"I honestly don't know. You just seem kind of like that light that's there when it's too dark…"

"_Yeah, yeah, Romeo, don't get too sappy on me. I suppose I could let you go to sleep tonight, but don't think I didn't warn you. You have to earn the right to sleep. Also, I think I'd be careful if I were you. That blue haired Prince of Cats is eavesdropping on you."_

With that, Koichi was again silent. Having finished my onigiri, I stood and walked to the door. As I opened the door, Grimmjow fell face first on my feet.

"Wow, Grimmjow, falling for me already?" I smirked down at him as he glared.

I started to walk away when he grabbed my ankle, causing me to stop. I turned my head, glowering at him as it was his turn to smirk.

"So, Ichigo, who was it that you were talking to?" he said, seeming full of himself.

For some reason, it felt weird to be called Ichigo and not King. Damn it, I had gotten to used to Koichi. I'd have to tell him to quit calling me King before I forgot my own name.

"_What? You expect me to call you Ichigo? Why should I- oops…" _he said, realizing he kind of had called me Ichigo, _"I'm not saying it again. You are my King. Besides, I wouldn't expect you to be the one who wants to be called a strawberry. Aren't you fruity?"_

I rolled my eyes at Koichi's last two comments before placing my attention back on Grimmjow, or the Prince of Cats, as Koichi had dubbed him. There sure was a lot of royalty going around, wasn't there? Koichi giggled at that one.

"Who I was talking to is none of your concern. I would be very pleased if you release my leg, Grimmjow."

"I don't think that I want to do that, Berry."

For some reason, when Grimmjow called me a fruit, I was only enraged, unlike with my reaction to Koichi. I folded my arms over my chest and huffed, debating on what to do.

"_You could always show him who's stronger," _Koichi suggested, to which I slightly shook my head to.

"I have to go back to the classroom. Let go of my ankle while I'm still being nice," I ground out.

"No. I don't think you've got it in you to hurt me," he said from his position on the floor, causing Koichi to boo at him.

"_Bruise him, hurt him, break his bones! You know you want to! You know you can!" _Koichi shouted.

"Grimmjow, come on! I really don't want to deal with this..." I begged, hoping that he might decide that messing with me wasn't worth his time.

Too bad that he apparently thought that it was worth his time.

"No, I think that I'm going to mess with you a bit instead," he said, leering up at me.

_"Do it! Do it, now! Show him that he's the weak one! King, do something! If you don't, then I will!"_

When I tried to yank my foot away, he tightened his grip, sending pain up my leg. I growled in discomfort.

"Would you kindly let go of my damn foot before I get pissed off, Grimmjow?" I asked, trying not to sound like I was begging.

"Hm... No," he said, his smirk widening.

"Oh, thanks so much for-! Wait, what?" I demanded, blinking.

Grimmjow dragged me down to the floor, sticking a hand over top of my mouth so that I couldn't talk or make a sound. Tears welled up, trying to break the paper thin resolve I had. I grabbed his hand with both of mine in attempt to pry it off. I kicked weakly at his back, but couldn't reach him due to his position on top of me.

_"King, you better get him off, unless you want me to do it!" _Koichi shouted, causing me to flinch.

I wriggled around, trying to escape from his heavy body, but failing miserably. Realizing that there was nothing I could do about it, I ceased my futile attempts to escaped. There must be a calm way to think about this. If I calm down and think, I should be able to come up with a solution easily. Grimmjow seemed happy that I was letting him do as he pleased, getting ready to punch the living day lights out of me. Noticing this, my efforts were renewed and I tried to escape again and accidentally brushed up against his crotch. The look that my actions had produced was not at all comforting and I whined in discomfort.

_"That's it! If you ain't going to do anything about him, then I will! I'm taking control!" _Koichi declared.

Suddenly, I was no longer in control of my actions. I wasn't in control of my voice for that matter. I could do nothing but watch as my left hand grabbed the hand covering my mouth and brutally yanked it away from my face, producing a strange sound from the strain on Grimmjow's arm. Grimmjow didn't seem to notice this at first and instead only noticed that I was fighting back. He tried to punch me, but my other hand caught his fist and twisted it savagely. I felt a smirk grow on my face that I think would have resembled Koichi's. I wasn't sure if Koichi was the one smirking or if I, in fact, was enjoying causing pain to Grimmjow.

"Stay off of my King!" Koichi said through my lips, "If you don't, then I'm going to have to kill you next time!"

Grimmjow was shoved to the ground as my body stood, a foot stomping down on his side, which produced a sickening crack. I figured that Koichi may have fractured one of Grimmjow's ribs. My body bent down, snagging his shirt and pulling him up just below eye level with my face.

"You got that, pretty boy?" Koichi snarled.

Grimmjow frantically nodded his head up and down with eyes as wide as saucers. Koichi gave him a sweet smile that didn't reach his rage filled eyes.

"Good! Now get out of my sight," he said, tossing Grimmjow towards the stairs where his head collided with the rail.

Despite the pain he probably felt, he bolted down the stairs as fast as he could and was out of sight in less than ten seconds. Koichi chuckled, relinquishing control to me. Even though I didn't really want to get in a fight like just now, I was thankful to Koichi's interference and spoke my thanks to him.

_"It was nothing. You have that sort of strength, too. You just never believe youself, you fruit," _he said.

It didn't really sound like much of an insult, but I still got flustered and angry at him for the name.

_"Relax. I didn't mean anything by it. Besides, you should go back to class before I decide that I want to try a little bit of freedom again," _he warned.

Though it was said like a joke, I knew there was truth behind it and rushed back to the classroom. Once I was there, I noticed Renji and Rukia glancing at me in worry, but they didn't voice that concern. I rolled my eyes, knowing that their stares were going to be boring into my back for the rest of the school day. The lecture didn't last long before the teacher decided that the rest of class time would be spent having free time in which we could study, socialize, or read a book. I just pulled out a piece of paper and started doodling a picture. It looked eerily like me and yet not. It's what I invisioned that Koichi looked like, even if I hadn't exactly ever seen him before.

_"Hey! That looks kind of like me, King!" _Koichi exclaimed in excitement, _"Well, actually, it looks exactly like me, but you get the point... Why are you drawing me any way?"_

I decided that it wouldn't be a good idea to talk to Koichi out loud and got a piece of paper out from my binder. Utilizing my pencil, I wrote the words, 'I don't know, I just wanted to all of a sudden...'

_"Aw, how sweet! You're so nice, King," _Koichi said in a slightly mocking voice.

I groaned, writing down, 'Whatever. If that's the way you're going to react every time I do something minutely nice, I won't do it anymore.'

"What are you doing?" came a voice.

"That's stupid, Koichi. You know what I was-" I turned around and realized that I had responded to a voice that was not Koichi.

"Koichi? Who's that?" Renji asked.

"Oh! I'm so sorry, Renji!" I said as I laughed nervously, "I thought you were somebody else..."

Koichi snickered at my mistake, trying not to burst into laughter. I glared at the floor for a minute before returning my attention to Renji.

"Is there something that you needed?"

"Oh, nothing much. Just wanted to know if you were okay after what happened. Awesome picture be the way," he replied, pointing at the picture of Koichi.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. Also, I wouldn't say that about him. If you get to know him, he's extremely annoying. He laughs to much, any way," I said, partially directing my words towards Koichi.

_"King! That was mean! I resent that," _he complained.

Renji tilted his head in confusion and stayed quiet for a minute, crossing his arms over his chest.

"You know, if you ever need anything, Rukia and I are there for you. Don't bottle things up," he said, walking back over to his group of friends.

I think he was hoping that I might follow him and engage in a conversation or at least sit with them, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to. Though it sounded appealing at first thought, it may turn disastrous. I just doodled for the rest of the thirty minutes of class we had, not even Koichi said anything.

I was thankful when I heard the bell eventually rang, it's chime like a call from angels to leave the hell deemed school. I gathered all my stuff into my messenger back and darted out of the building, running all the way home. I burst through the door to find the house empty, which wasn't a surprise. My mother had gotten a divorce from my father only to find out after a couple of years that she still loved him. They were now going steady, so they were most likely on a date right now. I didn't care.

_"Aw, poor King, home alone," _Koichi said, snickering.

I rolled my eyes just as I walked into the kitchen, grabbing a piece of bread from the pantry and sticking it in the toaster. Once it popped out, I grabbed it and a glass of orange juice before heading upstairs. I ate my toast and finished off the orange juice, then put the glass on my desk before plopping down on the bed. What would happen if I went to sleep? I was so tired after everything that happened. Surely Koichi would let me go to sleep just this once.

There was no reply from Koichi. There was no laugh, no snicker, not a single sound, I didn't know what to do and so I layed my head back on the pillow. I stared at the ceiling, trying not to sleep for what seem like hours on end, but was probably only a few minutes. No madder how hard I tried, I couldn't keep my heavy eye lids from shutting.

Soon, I was asleep, unaware of what was about to happen to me...

* * *

**I know, I know. A lot of you are probably going, "What the heck took you so long, Blue Strawberry Fang?" Honestly, nothing honorable. Mostly, I was waiting to see if anybody even liked my plot bunny. Seeing as I had two reviewers, I was delighted and attempted to add another chapter! Unfortunately, I accidentally deleted my first attempt... Then, I thought that it was stupid anyways and started a completely different chapter. After that, I accidentally deleted half of my second attempt and had to type that over again.**

**So you people get the point! Furthermore, you're probably wondering where Ichigo's craziness went. Just so you know, don't worry, there will be more of that in the next chapter. I needed to establish a name for Ichigo's hollow and get a bit of his personality in. He doesn't have anything against Ichigo, he's just misunderstood, but that won't stop him from making Ichigo pay the consequences for disobeying him and going to sleep...**

**Also, thanks very much to my two reviewers, you have no idea how happy I was! I actually cried!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, so I think I have a few things to clear up this time around, but first, I want to thank my reviewers again! I figured that it was probably rude not to reply to their reviews, but you may all know that I'm fairly lazy, so I'll answer them here!**

**Strawberry-Ringo: Thanks for your support! I actually accidentally typed Shiro in a lot at first, so it was frustrating to back track and type in Koichi. It wasn't easy to come up with a name either, I went through a terrible amount of names before deciding on that one. In fact, I was unsure if it was acceptable, but it reassures me that you like it. *in sing song voice as well* Of course he's in trouble~! Not too much though, cause Koichi does still and always has cared about Ichigo in that twisted crazy sort of way.**

**Kitty Seville: The story is indeed crazy. That may actually be due to my own slight insanity, but it takes one to know one. Why not utilize it for an awesome fic? Glad you like my weird ideas and all, thanks for the support.**

**Skippy the Hobolo: I am a lot happier and more willing to update if I know that someone actually likes my story, yes. So, in a way, I suppose I would review more quickly. To tell you the truth, I honestly have no idea what canon and AU mean. I went through quite a few listings and still didn't exactly figure out what AU meant. Although, from what I have found, canon has something to do with going by the rules set by the original author. In a sense, I'm trying to make them how they originally were, but that's hard to do when you make somebody insane. Ichigo's hollow, or Shiro/Hichigo, whatever you want to call him, for one. Tite Kubo never really said that he wanted to be Ichigo's friend and I did say that this is intended to be shounen-ai at the least. I hope that answers something, but if it doesn't, just tell me.**

**Fawn4ever: I'm glad that you like my story so much, and Koichi's name! I was actually kind of worried that I wasn't portraying him correctly, so I'm glad that you think so! And I'm going as fast as I can!**

**Without further ado, I give you chapter three!**

* * *

I was awakened by a weight on my hips and a pain down my chest. I cracked open one eye to see a blurry figure positioned directly above me. I squinted my eyes, then rubbed them to rub the sleep away, then glanced back up at the figure. He had a pale face, accented by the moonlight that matched his snow white hair and glowing yellow eyes with black sclera. I stared at him for quite a while before it actually sank in.

Koichi was leaning right above me, dragging his nails torturously under my shirt. The sensation it brought wasn't too painful, but it produce small droplets of blood here and there. I yelped and attempted shove him off, but he barely budged.

"What are you doing?" I whispered harshly, trying to keep my voice down.

"I'd like to ask you the same thing. Didn't I say not to go to sleep?" he demanded, chuckling darkly.

I gulped in fear, terrified of what he might have planned for me. What ever it was, it probably wouldn't feel good at all and hurt a lot. I shut my eyes tight and bit my lip. I felt Koichi's fingers on my chin as he pulled my face in the direction of what I assumed was his own face. The sound I made was not whimper. I don't whimper.

"What are you all scared about?" Koichi asked curiously.

I opened my eyes and blinked at him, wondering what he was getting at.

"Aren't you going to... hurt me...?" I wondered, thoroughly confused.

"Hell no! Why would I do that?" he shouted, seeming offended.

I pointed down at his black nailed hands that were currently being used as claws on my slightly raw chest. He chuckled nervously after withdrawing the hands from my sore skin and gazed down in my eyes.

"I don't really want to hurt you," he supplied, "I just want to give you your punishment for falling asleep."

"What exactly are you going to do to me?" I tried to keep the fear I was feeling out of my shaky voice.

"Nothing much," he leaned down over me, caressing my cheek, "I just want a thing or two that's precious of yours..."

I shuddered slightly at the feeling of his breath washing over my face, trying not to lean into the hand on my face. In the sparse daze I was in, I tried to puzzled together the meaning of Koichi's words. What would be so important to me that he'd actually want?

"What exactly do you want from me?" I implored suspiciously, narrowing my eyes at his 'innocent' smile.

"Nothing too important to you," he replied as his smile widened, "right after you find out what I want from you and give it to me, I'll let you sleep peacefully."

"What? You're so confusing! How would I know what you want...?" I trailed off, starting to really think about what he was asking.

He wanted something precious that supposedly wasn't important. He made it sound so easy!

"I'll give you one hint," he said, holding up a finger, "about what I want. The specific type of the precious thing I want can only be given once, but it can still be very common."

My brow furrowed as the question seemed to get more confusing. How can it only be given once and yet be common? He better not want my limited edition foundation pen! I rubbed my face, growling in frustration. Koichi leaned over top of my body.

"Wow, King. You're so dense! It's so obvious... What I want is..."He leaned closer in towards my face until our noses were touching, "your first kiss."

His lips brushed over mine and then they were locked together. There wasn't any mouth opening or anything like that, it was just an innocent touch of lips. It took a few seconds for things to sink in, and then it hit me. He wanted my first kiss! It wasn't anything too important and yet it was so precious! How could I have not known? The meaning behind that took even longer to sink in.

By the time Koichi pulled his face away from mine, I was blushing so bright, it was sure to be twice as bright as Renji's hair. He laughed at my flustered expression. Not that cruel and hollow sounding laugh he always used, but an actual happy laugh that reached his eyes and brought a slight blush to his cheeks. I laughed with him, even if I wasn't entirely sure why I was laughing.

"As strange as it may sound, I really do like you, Ichigo. Just remember that and go to sleep, you'll need it," he said, winking at me.

With that done, he faded away, bringing a cold feeling over me. I reluctantly turned onto my side, pulling up the covers, and closed my eyes. It was hard to sleep, but I eventually fell unconscious.

* * *

Instead of the usual alarm clock, I awoke to my father's exuberant shouts from not to far away. Groaning, I rolled off my bed right as his foot collided with the pillow I had been sleeping on not to long ago. Noticing I was no longer in the bed, he jumped to the wooden floor that I was already standing on. Unfortunately, he was right in front of my dresser and I couldn't get to my clothes.

"Dad, get out of the way!" I shouted, kicking him into the wall, "What are you doing here, anyways?"

"Excellent kick, my son," he congratulated, quickly getting to his feet, "your mother and I have decided to get back together! Your sisters are already downstairs in the kitchen!"

I was already developing a headache from his constantly loud voice, which was probably a new record on his part. Angrily, I shooed him out of the room, yelling that I wanted my privacy. I half expected Koichi to comment on my dad's rambunctiousness, but my head was eerily silent. I tried to ignore it the best I could, proceeding with my usual shower and morning procedures.

Suddenly, I couldn't help but think of something that Koichi had sad and I was unsure of why I had. _"I just want a thing or two that's precious of yours..." _he had said. What was the 'or two' all about? As far as I knew, a kiss was only one thing, so what else was it that he want, or possibly even already took, that I had? I brushed off the thought, deciding to head on downstairs after grabbing my messenger bag.

Once I was in the kitchen, every person's eyes were one me. I started get nervous, but then the silence broke.

"Ichi-nii! We're so happy to see you!" Yuzu cried, running up and hugging me tight.

Karin was soon to follow, although she didn't hug me. Whether she didn't want to or was just holding back the urge to do so, I didn't know. I smiled and ruffled their hair before walking over to the counter and snatching a piece of bread off my dad's plate and walking out the door. Well, almost, I had to bend over due to my dad's second attempt that morning to kick me.

"Excellent dodge... my... son...!" he held up a thumb before crumpling to the floor after colliding with the wall.

I rolled my eyes as I heard my mom scolding him, walking away from my house as quickly as I could. It's best if nobody knew that I was related to them. That would be so embarrassing. After spying Renji, I got up on him and kicked him in the lower back, causing him to fall flat on his face. I laughed at him and he was quick to jump up.

"Hey! Who the hell did tha-" he stopped as he had spun around and saw me, "oh, very funny Ichigo! What is it with you and abusing me?"

I rolled my eyes at his fake whining, continuing my trek to school as I knew he would right behind me. Even though kicking him over had cheered me up, I still felt kind of empty inside. I couldn't explain it. Maybe it was just because all I ate for breakfast was a measly piece of toast. Deciding that the reason would suffice, I focused on Renji's babbling. Something about how Rukia had pummeled him yesterday after an innocent comment on her drawing on a bunny.

"You know, if you had just left her alone in the first place, she wouldn't have done anything to you," I commented.

"Yeah, well, her drawing suck," he exclaimed, "and come to think of it, you're pretty good at drawing... Maybe you could give her some lessons so that we don't have to worry about our eyes burning from her lack of skill."

I tried to laugh and sound as if I meant it, knowing that Renji was expecting it. For some reason, I just didn't have a sense of humor today. I felt... kind of hollow...

"Nah, I don't think that she could learn anything from me. Our style are just too different, you know?" I mused.

"True. If she's that bad at drawing bunnies, I'd hate to see her draw a person!" he laughed.

"What did you say about Chappy?" came an utterly pissed voice.

Renji froze up and I hightailed it out of there. I didn't want to be there when Rukia pummeled Renji, or I might some how get hit as well, knowing her. I ignored Renji's shouts not to leave him alone and laughed at his misfortune. He'd be back to insulting her again in a couple hours, so there wasn't really anything to worry about right now.

I entered the school building, finding my classroom with ease this time around and I had to smirk, even if Koichi most likely wasn't paying attention. Why did it seem so quiet? There were so many people talking, the classroom was filled with chatter. Yet, it was way too quiet to me. I didn't like it one bit.

Rukia and Renji were soon in the classroom, taking their seats quietly. After that, the teacher came in, hushing the entire class to take roll call. Once she had confirmed that everyone was in class, she said we were allowed to talk to each other, but we could only whisper. That's different, something must be going on today.

"So, Ichigo, I hear that you're good at drawing! Can I see?" Rukia begged, suddenly right beside me.

I reluctantly pulled out the slightly wrinkled sheet of paper with the doodle of Koichi and handed to her. She stared at it in amazement for a few minutes, eyes not even blinking and mouth open like a cod fish.

"Wow, you're good," she said, "have you considered becoming an artist?"

"No, drawing's just a pass time," I replied, trying to snatch back the paper, "now give it back."

Before I could do anything about it, the paper was taken by Orihime.

"Whoa!" she shouted, making my head pound, "This is so awesome, but he would look cooler if he had a cat head and a robot arm and had really cool gadgets and-"

She stopped when Chad took the picture, looking at it with an unreadable expression. After a couple of seconds, he grunted and handed it to me without a word.

"Thanks, Chad," I said cheerily.

I stuffed it back into my messenger bag before somebody else could get their hands on it. Rukia and Orihime complained a bunch before finally heading back over to their seats when the teacher said for everyone to settle down once again. I sighed, rubbing my fingers over my closed eyes, trying to reduce my now throbbing headache. I wished Koichi would say something. Anything.

"Okay, class. Our school has been specially requested to give examinations on all of the students. No exceptions, your parents have already been notified," the teacher announced before opening the door for a formal looking woman.

"Good morning," he said, pausing so that everybody could respond, "I am a doctor. My name is Retsu Unohana and I will be doing examinations on all of you. You don't have to worry, there will be no shots or blood tests."

Their were relieved releases of breath throughout the room and thumps on desks. I groaned. An examination was the last thing I needed, and I figured I already knew what this was about. I denied my worry, though, it probably wasn't what I thought it was...

"We will escort you to the gym and bring you into a private room individually for your examination. Everybody form a line so that we can get started," she instructed.

Everybody got out of their seats, heading to the front of the class to form a line. I was the last person to get up, forcing myself to walk over to the line and getting in the back. Once everyone was quiet, we were led out of the room towards the gym and ordered to sit down against the wall. I crouched down, sitting my elbows on my thighs and resting my head on my hands.

Renji and Rukia were near the front of the line, so they were almost the first to go back to the private room. The closer I got to the front, the more my chest clinched up. I couldn't help but to feel as if something bad was going to happen. Mentally, I wished that Koichi would say something, some sort of words of comfort.

Before I even knew it, I was only two people away from the door. I could have sworn that I heard shouts of pain and things clattering in the room, which only fuel my paranoia. I twiddled my thumbs and pulled at my shirt, trying to ignore what I was hearing. There seemed to be some giggling coming from somewhere. I wasn't sure where it was coming from, but for the moment, it wasn't very loud. It was no louder than a small whisper, so I would ignore it.

Then it was my turn. It was my turn to go into that room that I was already scared of. I carefully approached the door, sticking my head in, not wanting to go in, but was shoved through the doorway. I shouted a protest, only to see that door had already slammed shut. I turned my eyes warily on the woman sitting in the seat near me. She was not Unohana. This was a completely different person. What I really wanted to do was break down the door and run for dear life, but instead I sat in the empty chair.

"Ichigo Kurosaki?" she asked in a bit of a monotone.

I nodded my head and she moved her pen to jot something down on her clipboard. I waited impatiently for her to say something, drumming my fingers on the side of my chair. The giggling had started to get louder, bit by bit. Who was it? It was Koichi, because he hadn't made a sound since last night. I rubbed my temple, trying not to look as if I wanted to rip my own ears off in frustration.

"How are you today?" she finally spoke.

I grumbled to myself, silently thinking that this was completely idiotic.

"Oh, I don't know... I have horrible headaches here and there, but I'm fine," I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Good," she said as she scribbled something down, "has anything strange happened lately?"

The giggling was now nearly as loud as the woman voice. I had to force myself not to try and talk over the sound.

"Nothing much. I think something weird was going on with my eyes yesterday, so I was taken to the nurse's office. There wasn't anything too important that happened, really," I told her.

Something was biting at me, telling me that she definitely didn't believe what I had said. I hoped that even if that was true, that she wouldn't press at the matter.

"Has anything traumatic ever happened in your life?" when she said this, the giggling jumped to a completely different level and I couldn't hear her voice.

I froze up. What do I do? What do I do, what do I do? I saw her pull out a syringe, causing my eyes to widen. I stood up, which caused my chair to topple over. There was laughter and cackles everywhere now, it was the only thing that I could here. I could hear voices behind the laughing.

_"You want to stop her! Hurt her! Make everything better! Hurt her!" _the voices in my head weren't Koichi.

I didn't like these voices. What they wanted me to do sounded far to appealing and I was now leaning towards the woman with what probably looked like an insane glint in my eye. She was holding the syringe in front of her as if it was a life line, seeming as if she was trying to keep the fear off her expression.

As I proceed to step towards the now completely terrified woman, I heard the laughter calm down a bit so the voices could chant a lullaby. After they sang it once through, I found myself singing along with them, yanking the syringe from her hand.

"Go to sleep, close your little eyes," I said, pulling her towards me.

"Angels are above us, peeping through the skies," she looked at me, tears coming to her eyes.

"God is in heaven, and he watch doth keep," I wrapped my hands around her skinny neck, her face getting red as she started to suffocate.

"Time for little children to go to sleep."

I dropped her unconscious body onto the cold floor, staring down at my handiwork. I was completely numb, what I had done not registering. The giggling had stopped and the voices were hissing and booing. They told me to finish the job. I grabbed the pen that was on her clipboard and, still humming the lullaby, was about to stab her when the door shot open. Renji and Chad ran in the room, pulling me off the woman. Anger rushing through me, I tried to stab Renji with the pen, but Chad pulled it from my grasp.

"Ichigo, quit it! We're your friends! Why are you trying to hurt us?" Renji shouted as I was trying to jerk away from their arms.

Once the voices were finally gone, I realized what I was doing and ceased my efforts to cause harm to Renji and Chad. Tears threatened to fall from my eyes and I turned around, hugging them both, taking in deep gasps for breath.

"I'm so sorry guys!" I apologized, "I don't know what I was doing! I was wrong! I was so wrong!"

Renji patted my back in an attempt to comfort me, staring at the unconscious woman. Chad, too, looked up at her. I ceased my crying to turn around and see what they were looking at. There were dark red marks on her neck in the exact shape and size of my hands, already turning purple. I gasped.

"I did... that...?" I whispered.

Renji nodded, not removing his eyes from the forming bruises. I reasoned with myself that it wasn't that bad, that she was still alive, but it was bad. If Chad and Renji hadn't come in when they did, she would probably also have blood all over her and she'd be dead. My eyes blurred with tears again and I buried my face into my hands.

"What have I done? What have I done?" I repeated the question like a mantra, going mentally numb.

_"Well, it looks like you screwed up while I was gone_," Koichi giggled_, "I can't believe you actually did that!"_

"What do you mean, while you were gone?" I asked out loud, suddenly not used to Koichi's voice, "What are you talking about?"

I vaguely noticed Chad and Renji looking at me as if I was crazy, but brushed it off in favor of listening to Koichi. Even if I was confused, I did kind of miss him. Only a little, though!

_"Oh, I was taking it easy for a while. I forgot to tell you that the other thing I want from you was your sanity. Only for a couple hours, though, but I guess even that's too much for you to handle," _he laughed.

I growled in frustration. My sanity? How can someone take that? Better yet, why would they want it in the first place?

"Why would you do that? What good is my sanity to you?" I yelled, completely infuriated, "I don't want to become a murderer!"

_"Hold your horses King," _he giggled, _"you're the one who misbehaved, so you had to have a punishment. Besides, you aren't a murderer, she's still alive. Also, you won't even get in trouble, those people didn't have a right to be messing with the students. Didn't you see that syringe? They were going to use it on you. Show it to your friends."_

I grumbled to myself, but did as Koichi said. If I didn't, I was sure that he'd do it for me, so it's best to listen to him while he's playing nice. I walked over to the wall, gingerly picking up the syringe at my feet and brought it over to Renji. He took it from my hand, looking at with his face scrunched up in confusion before he looked up at me.

"What's this?" he asked me, gestering towards the syringe.

"A syringe," I replied.

"I know that!" he growled, "What's in the damn thing?"

I ran a hand through my hair, letting out a long sigh.

"Honestly, I have no idea. All I know is that she was going to use it on me. When the two people in front of me went in here, I heard a lot of screaming. I'm not sure what was going on in here, though," I responded, scratching my head in confusion.

I was glad that all the giggling was gone, as well as the headache, and that Koichi was back. I smiled, not quite knowing the exact reason why.

_"Aw!"_

"Shut up," I said out loud, causing Renji and Chad to flinch.

"Man, you have got to stop doing that. It's just plain creepy," Renji stated, shivering.

"Doing what?" I asked him.

"Talking to yourself! Seriously, it's not helping you at all to do that," he griped, standing up and stretching.

"I'm not talking to myself," I retorted truthfully.

"Whatever, man. We should probably go to the office and show them this."

I nodded in agreement as I followed them out of the horrid room towards the front office. I was thankful that my friends were so accepting, knowing that anybody else would've suggested me to the insane asylum by now. I chuckled at the thought, causing Koichi to stir.

_"What's so funny?"_

"Nothing really. I was just thinking about how all of my friends are way to trusting," I remarked, laughing some more.

Renji turned his head, smiling at me. Chad just nodded in acknowledgement. Yes, I was very thankful for my friends. Let's just hope that things go okay in the office...

* * *

**Author's Notes**

**Dun dun dun! Okay, forget I ever did that. Any way, woo! I'm finally done with this chapter! I'm so happy! Ichigo's insanity strike again. I wonder what Koichi was doing while he wasn't talking to Ichigo? Why exactly didn't he want Ichigo to have his sanity? What will happen in the office? No, seriously, what are the answers to those questions? Kidding, kidding, I do have a bit of an idea. Sorry, but through out the day, I've been getting writer's block on and off! Just so you know, I did have a bit of fun with that lullaby scene.**

**Please review, it makes me happy! Besides, if there's something nagging you, I won't know unless you tell me!**

**Also, I'm taking requests, just so people know! They give me ideas and stuff...**


	4. Chapter 4

I sat in one of the uncomfortable chairs in the office next to Chad and Renji. The office lady had just come into the front to ask us what we needed before quickly going back to the principal's separate room. I grumbled to myself, wondering when we'd actually get to tell them about the syringe with the strange liquid inside. We waited for what I estimated to be fifteen minutes before the woman walked back into the room.

"Principal Genryuusai will see you now," she informed us before holding the door open.

"_Well, would you look at that, King? Patience pays!" _Koichi giggled.

"Shut up," I quietly replied so that only Renji next to me could hear, and possibly Chad.

Once we walked in, Genryuusai told us to take a seat. Renji and I sat while Chad remained standing behind us.

"Now, what is it that I can do for you boys today?" he asked us.

I looked up from the floor to meet his face and cleared my throat.

"During the examinations, I heard some kids screaming in the room and loud clatters. Once I was in there, the woman pulled a syringe on me," I held up the syringe for him to see.

"Ah," he said, "did you hurt this person?"

"Only in self defense," I ground out, not mentioning that I was completely out of my mind during this so called self defense.

Genryuusai held his hand out expectantly. I sat there for a few seconds before I realized that he wanted me to hand him the infernal object. I immediately did so, wishing to be rid of the thing. He held the syringe up close to his face, as if he couldn't see well, then his eyes widened.

"I honestly hope that this isn't what I think it is. Nonetheless, we must do something either way. Do any of you have your cell phones on your person at this time?" he abruptly asked.

"Y-yeah, I do," I said quietly.

"Just this once, I'll permit you to use your cell phone. Call 911," he told me urgently before getting up from his seat and stepping out of the room.

I could hear small whispers outside of the room, but they were too muffled to understand. I stuck my hand in my pocket and pulled out my black cell phone that was decorated with a big red star on the front. Paying no mind to it's décor, I flipped it open. I hesitated for a moment before punching in the number and holding the phone to my ear. It rang twice before there was a click and someone answered.

"This is 911, what is the emergency?" said a calm woman's voice.

"There are suspicious people here that we have reason to believe are holding drugs," I informed urgently, assuming that was the problem based on Genryuusai's reaction.

"Where are you at this time?" she questioned without giving nonsense.

"Karakura High," I replied, glancing out at Genryuusai and the office lady.

"We will send help immediately," she said before I heard the line go dead and hung up.

I looked at my friends, smiling in a hopefully comforting gesture. They didn't seem set at ease by it, unfortunately. I let the smile fall and looked back towards Genryuusai again. He walked back into the room. My gaze was dragged down towards the syringe as he drew closer, unable to feel calm around him when he was holding it. He noticed this and placed it on the desk before walking back over to me.

"What do you think it is?" I wondered aloud.

"I'm not entirely certain, but if my suspicions lead true…" he began, "it is amphetamine."

I glanced at him in shock. That stuff was illegal, wasn't it? I rubbed my head in an attempt to ebb away the swiftly approaching migraine.

"I don't get it, old man. Isn't that stuff illegal?" I wondered aloud.

"Kind of," Renji started to explain, "a prescription is required in order to own it. So, basically, they may have been able to own it, but they shouldn't have been using it on the students here."

"Oh," I said, "so, either way, if it is amphetamine, they are doing something illegal?"

"Yeah," he said, scratching his head.

_"See?" _Koichi asked me, _"You ain't going to get in trouble, but they are."_

Koichi started to giggle and I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes at him. Noticing that he wasn't going to get a funny reaction out of me, he ceased his laughter and decided to remain silent for a little while. I almost asked him to continue talking, but stopped myself. I don't want to look crazy in front of the school principal. Just then, I heard police sirens. Honestly, is that really necessary?

_"Apparently so," _Koichi answered my silent question.

I huffed and tapped my seat impatiently as we waited for the police to come into the room. We didn't wait long before a dark skinned woman with long, purple hair walked into the office. She shook Genryuusai's hand before walking over to me and squatting down so that we were about eye level.

"Are you Ichigo Kurosaki?" she asked me.

I didn't say anything, but shook my head in confirmation. She nodded to herself and then offered me her hand to shake.

"Yoruichi Shihoin," she introduced herself, shaking my hand, "I am a police chief at Karakura Police Department. Can I talk to you in here alone and ask you a few things about what happened?"

I shook my head timidly, not entirely trusting her after the last person who wanted to talk alone. She saw the fear and nervousness in my eyes and offered me a friendly smile.

"It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. I swear it on my badge," she promise, holding her badge up for me to see.

That slightly put me to ease, so I relaxed in my seat. Renji and Chad looked at me as if to ask me what I wanted them to do. I waved them off towards the door. Renji got up and left, while Chad stopped to look at me one last time before reluctantly leaving the room. Genruusai closed the door, leaving me alone with the purple haired woman. Yoruchi sat down in the chair that Renji previously sat in, giving me a warm smile.

"You said that you heard something before you went in the room. What did you hear?" she began.

"I heard screaming and shouting in the room," I explained to her, "and it sounded like there was a lot of noise. Like things were being tossed around or something."

"Ah," she jotted everything down on a notepad, "did she ask you anything strange?"

I paused to think for a moment. Ah, yes, I remember.

"She asked me if anything weird had happened lately. Also, right before she attacked me, she asked me if anything traumatic had ever happened..." I waited for a moment, then hesitantly added, "Do you think that she was purposely looking for dirt on me?"

"Unfortunately, yes. If my suspicions are true, she was searching for students with a bad history specifically. She wanted to drug people who had been misbehaving recently, or possibly had some sort of breakdown," Yoruichi stated, her expression not betraying any emotion.

I sighed in exasperation, looking down at my hands, which were folded in my lap. Koichi's presence shifted, as if he had just now started paying attention. Figuring that Yoruichi didn't have much else to say, I focused on what Koichi was saying.

_"That woman," _he said, _"the one with the hair braided around her neck. She doesn't have anything to do with what's going on. It was a defective subordinate."_

"How do you know that?" I whispered, hoping that Yoruichi couldn't hear me.

_"Does it matter? You should worry about catching that woman. She's trying to sneak out the back of the school building, where nobody is patrolling."_

"Yoruichi," I spoke to get her attention, "in the back. The woman is escaping."

I didn't pay any mind to Yoruichi's baffled expression in favors of dashing out the door and down the hallway. I heard the woman before I saw her, pulling at the doors. From experience, I knew that those doors were very hard to open from lack of use. If anyone tried to use them, they would protest unendingly with a high pitched scream that could nearly bust your eardrums. I was able to get right behind her without any trouble at all, because of the noise produced by her attempt to escape.

Slightly agitated, I tapped her shoulder, then crossed my arms as I tapped my foot impatiently. At first, she didn't notice she had been touched, but then, she spun around as quick as a spinning top. I couldn't help but to smirk at her as Koichi did to me when he had cornered me in my bed.

"Just where do you think you're going, little child?" I said, bringing up the lullaby from when I strangled her.

She was frozen to the spot in fear, causing me to have to restrain my urges to hurt her again. In fact, I would have stepped forward and finished her off it weren't for the fact that somebody cleared their throat behind me. Oops, looks like I have some explaining to do for Yoruichi...

* * *

**Bua ha ha! Cliff hanger! Please don't hurt me! **

**Well, this is the best I can do for you guys... I'm going to Ohio to go to court tomorrow, so I won't be able to update for almost a week as is. That doesn't include my slowness and writer's block. I'm trying, you know, but things are just really overwhelming and I have a headache. I have to go from Alabama all the way up to Ohio, so that sucks... I'm really scared, though, because my step father is the one we're going up against. My step father abused me, and I have to tell the judge what he did to me. He not only abuse me physically and emotionally, but sexually as well. It's not so fun to get your face slammed in a wall if you know what I mean, especially when your own best friend is watching and you had just been eating dinner. So, yeah, wish me luck. 'Cause I'm really scared and all. My goal is to get my brother and sister back from that evil man. I love all my viewers and reviewers, even if you hate me to the core!**


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